Background Information & Look n’ Feel

The Sonim XP2 Spirit is the latest “indestructible” mobile phone by Sonium and follows on from the XP1 and XP3 phones. Unfortunately for the CEO the phones have not proved entirely unbreakable as a BBC reporter demonstrated recently.

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To look at, the XP2 oozes toughness. This is conveyed through its rugged octagonal design which the manufacture says is a better suited to absorb shocks. At 131 x 60 x 22mm and weighing 180 grams this is quite a large mobile phone.

Sonim XP2 Spirit mobile phone

Sonim XP2 Spirit mobile phone

The XP2 has achieved both the IP-67 and the MIL-810 standards which means this phone is suitable for military use and extreme conditions. The Sonim XP2 Spirit can withstand 1 meter of water for 30 minutes and it can survive a 2 meter drop on concrete. The handset can survive temperatures of -20c and +55c. Moreover, 1.5mm Gorilla Glass display and the camera lens are both shock and scratch resistant.

What makes this phone so tough is a magnesium chassis covered in hardened rubber, nylon and fibreglass. The Sonium XP2 can take 1000 Kg of pressure, it’s dust proof and impervious to petroleum oils. The buttons are tested to take up to 850,000 pushes. If the phone does break you don’t have to worry as the phone has an unconditional 3 year guarantee.

Hardware – Display, Keyboard, Battery, Communications, Memory, Connectors

The Sonim XP2 Spirit comes with a 2″ 240 x 320 pixel display which is sufficient for a non touchscreen mobile. The phone has a 3 megapixel camera for video and photos, it comes with a multimedia player, FM radio, and it also has a built-in LED torch. Other additions include web browser, email client, expandable microSD (TransFlash) up to 8GB, HSDPA download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps, Bluetooth and a 2.5 mm audio jack.

Most of the XP2’s features are standard for a device like this. However, what is a surprise is the lack of GPS. This phone seems to be targeted at the outdoorsy types that would expect and benefit from a GPS compass. It is highly likely that GPS will be added to another version in the near future.

Availability & Pricing

The Sonim XP2 Spirit is a nice phone only because of its near indestructibility but the phone is certainly left wanting when it comes to the lack of GPS. The XP2 should be available in Europe around March. As yet there is no price but it is estimated that this phone will cost about £300

Communication Frequencies Tri-band GSM – 900, 1800, 1900 MHzUMTS – 2100 MHz
HSDPA – 7.2 Mbps
Networks 3G, HSDPA, Edge
Wap/GPRS WAP 2.0/1.2XHTML
SMS/MMS/E-mail SMS (capacity up to 1,000 messages)MMS (text, audio, photo and video)

E-mail with IMAP4 POP3 (Yahoo, Gmail…)

Java applications Opera Mini 4.2Sonim mail

Games

Nimbuzz

MG Maps

Photo/video functions Camera Yes
Sensor Dawn sensor
Maximum resolution (in pixels) 3 megapixels
Flash Yes
Box content Included accessories 22V mains charger, belt clip, screw, stereo earphones and USB cable
Music functions MP3 Player function AMR, Midi, WAV, WMA, AAC, eAAC+
FM radio Yes
Memory Internal memory 40 MB
External memory card slot Yes
Type of memory card supported MICRO SD
Maximum capacity of memory card 8 GB
Capacity of memory card supplied Appliance supplied without memory card
User friendliness Size 13.7 x 5.97 x 2.17 cm
Weight 180 g
Customisation/entertainment Ringtones Polyphonic
Games Yes
Screensavers Supported formats: JPEG, BMP, WBMP, PNG
Languages English, German, Spanish, Swedish, Dutch, French, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Czech and Greek
Battery life Talk time 8 hours
Stand-by time 428 hours
Battery 1300 mAh lithium-ion battery
Connectivity Connectivity (summary) BluetoothMicro USB

Audio jack

RF output

Bluetooth 1.2 (DUN, OPP, HSP, HFP, FTP, A2DP, AVRCP)
Infrared port No
Built-in modem No
PC synchronisation Yes
Others 2.5 mm audio jackMicro USB 2.0 (for charging and data transfers)

Coaxial RF output (for external antenna)

Display Number of screens 1
Main screen technology TFT
Main screen size (in pixels) 320 x 240 pixels
Number of colours on the main screen 262,000
Video function Video recorder Yes
Recorded video resolution 3 megapixels
Recorded video format MPEG4, H.264, 3GP
Recording with sound Multidirectional microphone